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the life of william carey-第26章

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ill myself; without much fatigue; and now; I bless God that I feel a sweet resignation to his will。〃

A still harder fate befell him。  The monomania of his wife became chronic。  A letter which she wrote and sent by special messenger called forth from Thomas this loving sympathy:〃You must endeavour to consider it a disease。  The eyes and ears of many are upon you; to whom your conduct is unimpeachable with respect to all her charges; but if you show resentment; they have ears; and others have tongues set on fire。  Were I in your case; I should be violent; but blessed be God; who suits our burdens to our backs。  Sometimes I pray earnestly for you; and I always feel for you。  Think of Job; Think of Jesus。  Think of those who were 'destitute; afflicted; tormented。'〃

A voyage up the Tangan in Mr。 Udny's pinnace as far as the north frontier; at a spot now passed by the railway to Darjeeling; restored the invalid。 〃I am no hunter;〃 he wrote; while Thomas was shooting wild buffaloes; but he was ever adding to his store of observations of the people; the customs and language。  Meanwhile he was longing for letters from Fuller and Pearce and Ryland。  At the end of January 1795 the missionary exile thus talks of himself in his journal:〃Much engaged in writing; having begun to write letters to Europe; but having received none; I feel that hope deferred makes the heart sick。  However; I am so fully satisfied of the firmness of their friendship that I feel a sweet pleasure in writing to them; though rather of a forlorn kind; and having nothing but myself to write about; feel the awkwardness of being an egotist。 I feel a social spirit though barred from society。。。I sometimes walk in my garden; and try to pray to God; and if I pray at all it is in the solitude of a walk。  I thought my soul a little drawn out to…day; but soon gross darkness returned。  Spoke a word or two to a Mohammedan upon the things of God; but I feel to be as bad as they。。。9th May。  I have added nothing to these memoirs since the 19th of April。  Now I observe that for the last three sabbaths my soul has been much comforted in seeing so large a congregation; and more especially as many who are not our own workmen come from the parts adjacent; whose attendance must be wholly disinterested。  I therefore now rejoice in seeing a regular congregation of from two to six hundred people of all descriptionsMussulmans; Brahmans and other classes of Hindus; which I look upon as a favourable token from God。。。Blessed be God; I have at last received letters and other articles from our friends in England。。。from dear brethren Fuller; Morris; Pearce; and Rippon; but why not from others?。。。14th June。  I have had very sore trials in my own family; from a quarter which I forbear to mention。  Have greater need for faith and patience than ever I had; and I bless God that I have not been altogether without supplies of these graces。。。Mr。 Thomas and his family spent one Lord's day with us; May 23rd。。。We spent Wednesday; 26th; in prayer; and for a convenient place assembled in a temple of Seeb; which was near to our house。。。I was from that day seized with a dysentery; which continued nearly a week with fearful violence; but then I recovered; through abundant mercy。  That day of prayer was a good day to our souls。  We concerted measures for forming a Baptist church。〃

To his sister he wrote; on the 11th March; of the church; which was duly formed of Europeans and Eurasians。  No native convert was made in this Dinapoor mission till 1806; after Carey had removed to Serampore。 〃We have in the neighbourhood about fifteen or sixteen serious persons; or those I have good hopes of; all Europeans。  With the natives I have very large concerns; almost all the farmers for nearly twenty miles round cultivate indigo for us; and the labouring people working here to the number of about five hundred; so that I have considerable opportunity of publishing the Gospel to them。  I have so much knowledge of the language as to be able to preach to them for about half an hour; so as to be understood; but am not able to vary my subjects much。  I tell them of the evil and universality of sin; the sins of a natural state; the justice of God; the incarnation of Christ and his sufferings in our stead; and of the necessity of conversion; holiness; and faith; in order to salvation。 They hear with attention in general; and some come to me for instruction in the things of God。〃

〃It was always my opinion that missionaries may and must support themselves after having been sent out and received a little support at first; and in consequence I pursue a very little worldly employment which requires three months' closish attendance in the year; but this is in the rainsthe most unfavourable season for exertion。  I have a district of about twenty miles square; where I am continually going from village to village to publish the Gospel; and in this space are about two hundred villages; whose inhabitants from time to time hear the Word。 My manner of travelling is with two small boats; one serves me to live in; and the other for cooking my food。  I carry all my furniture and food with me from place to placeviz。 a chair; a table; a bed; and a lamp。  I walk from village to village; but repair to my boat for lodging and eating。 There are several rivers in this extent of country; which is very convenient for travelling。〃

Carey's first convert seems to have been Ignatius Fernandez; a Portuguese descendant who had prospered as a trader in Dinapoor station。  The first Protestant place of worship in Bengal; outside of Calcutta; was built by him; in 1797; next to his own house。 There he conducted service both in English and Bengali; whenever Carey and Thomas; and Fountain afterwards; were unable to go out to the station; and in his house Thomas and Fountain died。  He remained there as a missionary till his own death; four years before Carey's; when he left all his property to the mission。  The mission…house; as it is now; is a typical example of the bungalow of one story; which afterwards formed the first chapel in Serampore; and is still common as officers' quarters in Barrackpore and other military stations。

Side by side with his daily public preaching and more private conversations with inquirers in Bengali; Carey carried on the work of Bible translation。  As each new portion was prepared it was tested by being read to hundreds of natives。  The difficulty was that he had at once to give a literary form to the rich materials of the language; and to find in these or adapt from them terms sufficiently pure and accurate to express the divine ideas and facts revealed through the Hebrew and the Greek of the original。  He gives us this unconscious glimpse of himself at work on this loftiest and most fruitful of tasks; which Jerome had first accomplished for Latin Christendom; Ulfila for our Scandinavian forefathers; Wiclif for the English; and Luther for the Germans of the time。

〃Now I must mention some of the difficulties under which we labour; particularly myself。  The language spoken by the natives of this part; though Bengali; is yet so different from the language itself; that; though I can preach an hour with tolerable freedom so as that a
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